"Hello Kara, how are we today?"

I look up to see that my therapist, Mrs. Nox, is watching me expectantly, the pretty woman crossing her legs from where she sits in an antique armchair. The fabric of the chair is a deep shade of green as mahogany framing rims it and she idly taps her fingertips against it. I shift uneasily in a matching armchair as I sit across from her and try to find the right words to express the tangle of thoughts in my mind.

An Eagles vinyl record spins in the corner of the room on a turn table, the telltale chords for the beginning of 'Hotel California' softly trickling from the speakers.

If only she knew about the memes.

I push the thought from my mind as I take a breath to speak, "I'm...disturbed."

Mrs. Nox tilts her head, her neatly braided hair sliding to the side in a flash of ginger as her nearly nonexistent eyebrows furrow.

"And why's that?"

The shades on the window are open to let in the sun, which catches on her blond eyelashes and accents the spots of amber in her green eyes. I don't hesitate to tell her the truth, we've spoken enough over the past couple of months and I know that she'll listen as I clear my throat.

"My sister came to visit yesterday and...I had finished up my swim practice," I say as she nods along.

"Of course, you have a swim-meet coming up that you've been training hard for," she interjects.

"Yes, but when I had left to get dressed, I-...I saw some things," I trail off as I suddenly feel ashamed, the words stopping in my throat like wads of cotton.

"Kara, you can tell me what you saw," Mrs. Nox urges me in a low voice.

I swallow a few times as I clasp my hands in my lap, "The lights flickered and there was...," my mouth dries up at the thought of the word, "red...dripping from the ceiling."

"Like blood?" Mrs. Nox suggests and I cringe.

"Yes, and then the lights turned back and it was gone, I don't know what to think," I tell her honestly as her lips press into a line.

"Hmm, but you say that it disappeared, correct?" she asks as she narrows her eyes thoughtfully.

"Yes...I...I felt like it was so real though," I protest as I remember the fear that I had felt, along with being able to smell the blood.

"You're a senior in high school, the year is almost up and you're preparing for a swim meet, along with a polo match, Kara, you're under a huge amount of stress and I don't think that you've healed enough from your trauma," Mrs. Nox explains as she sits up in her chair.

"If you're expecting me to quit," I begin to say, but she lifts a hand to calm me.

"I'm not saying that, I'm saying that you need to find a balance, you need time off to relax and clear your mind," she proposes as she writes something down on her notepad. "If you're thinking that you're going crazy, you're not, I won't let you."

I relax into my armchair as I fidget with my sleeve, "Thanks."

"I'd recommend keeping up with your new dosage for just one more week and then we'll see where we are, I think I've almost gotten the dosage correct for you," she says as she clicks her pen and clips it to her clipboard.

I nod as I feel a tiny sense of relief, "Okay."

"Now, do you have any other concerns?"

"No, that was the only thing I was worried about," I reply and she smiles.

"I'm glad to hear that, but please, take my recommendation seriously while your medication continues to go to work, did you enjoy the music today?"

I blink as I'm caught off-guard by her question, "Yes."

"I figured you would, I assume that you've seen the memes for it?" she inquires seriously as she lifts an eyebrow.

I can't help but laugh at the expression on her face, "Yeah, I have."

"Good, now you said that your friends were planning on going to the mall, please join them and try to relax. If the social interaction becomes too overwhelming, remember to take time for yourself, even if your friends might not understand," she reminds me.

"I will," I assure her.

"Have a good day, Kara," she says as she gets up and leads me to the door, "and please don't hesitate to call me if you have any more questions."

"I won't forget."

****

"I'm sure that she'll love it," Tessa assures me.

I gnaw on the corner of my lip as I stare at the bracelet from where it sits on the display table. The screech of metal hangers being pushed aside on a nearby clothing rack makes me shudder as I try to focus on the music coming from the speakers overhead. I can't name the song or singer, but the tone is relaxing enough that I try to follow along with it.

"But-," I begin to protest and Astrid sighs heavily.

"Kara, you're her sister, if anyone should know what she's going to like, it's you, but personally, I think it's gorgeous and I'd love to have it as an early birthday present if I were Indigo," she says and a silence settles over us as we take the time to admire the bracelet.

It's a lava bead bracelet, the black beads polished to a glimmering shine as holes pockmark their surfaces. A cat head pendant carved from black clay is in the center, a tiny moonstone set in its forehead as it flickers under the display lights in shades of blue and purple.

I hesitate as my fingers refuse to touch the bracelet, there's just something about it...something that sets me on edge.

The moonstone, I realize at last as I think back to the pendant Eleanora had once given me, a pendant I had long since thrown away.

I reach for the bracelet next to it, a faux opal being embedded in this one instead as I shut the lid on the box and nod to them.

"I'll buy this one instead, I think she'll like it better," I say quickly as they give me puzzled looks.

"That's fine, did you want to go and get something to eat for lunch?" Astrid asks as we start to walk for the checkout. "I've missed the orange chicken from the Dragon Dynasty."

"We could do that," I agree as I stop at the checkout counter, a boy around my age smiling at me as he takes the bracelet and scans it.

"Will that be all for you?" he asks as he types on his keyboard.

"Yes."

"Okay, your total is twelve fifty-two," he reads off for me as I pass him the correct change.

He takes the money from me and hands me a receipt as he waves briefly, like someone behind me has waved and he isn't sure if the gesture was directed at him as I retrieve the bag with the boxed bracelet in it.

"Thank you for shopping at JCPenny's," he chirps as we walk out into a main wing of the mall.

We are immediately met by the distant shrieking of children playing on a plastic playground from somewhere in the mall as it echoes into the metal rafters, their cries harsh as I grit my teeth against the sound and try to be somewhere else in my mind.

You're safe.

"He was cute," Tessa says suddenly.

"Hmm?" I glance over at her as she smiles and shoves me playfully on the shoulder.

"The cashier back there, I said he was cute," she teases as she and Astrid exchange a knowing look. "He even waved goodbye, it was adorable."

"Oh...I wasn't paying that much attention," I admit as I keep walking.

I take a breath of the cool air and blow it out slowly as I wrap the handle of the plastic bag more tightly around my clenched fist. You're safe, I remind myself as I lead the way, the relatively few people in the mall walking a safe distance away as I head for the food court with Astrid and Tessa following behind me and giggling among themselves.